DSE Economics: National Income — Tutor Lesson Plan (GDP, real GDP, unemployment)

2026-10-27

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Secondary economics

GDP is not the money a place earns; it is the market value of what it produces in a year. Say that clearly and the arithmetic stops going wrong.

Objectives — the student can compute GDP by expenditure, convert nominal to real GDP with a price index, and classify unemployment.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Components	What are C, I, G, X and M?	Consumption, investment, government, exports, imports
Percentages	Real value from 828 and index 115	828 / 115 x 100
Definition	What is a final good?	Not resold for further processing

02 Lesson flow (60 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-10 min	What GDP is	Domestic, one year, final goods	Sort five items
10-26 min	Expenditure approach	C + I + G + (X – M)	Two calculations
26-42 min	Nominal and real	Strip out price changes	Two calculations
42-54 min	Unemployment	Frictional, structural, cyclical	Sort six cases
54-57 min	Format	Formula, substitution, unit	Rewrite one
57-60 min	Exit check	Three questions marked	Finish alone

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Domestic production, not national earnings

GDP is the market value of final goods and services produced within a place in a year.
Intermediate goods are excluded to avoid double counting; second-hand sales are excluded as not new output.

Student judges a used car against a new car: only the new one counts.

Scene 2: Expenditure: C + I + G + (X – M)

C 500, I 120, G 80, X 200, M 150 gives 750.
Net exports can be negative, which pulls GDP down.

Note: imports are subtracted because they sit inside consumption or investment.

Scene 3: Real GDP strips out prices

Real GDP equals nominal GDP divided by the price index, times 100.
Nominal 828 with index 115 gives 720.
Nominal growth can be pure inflation; only real growth means more output.

Student checks nominal rising from 750 to 828 against real falling from 750 to 720.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
GDP	C 500, I 120, G 80, X 200, M 150	Sum then subtract imports	750
Real GDP	nominal 828, index 115	Divide by 115, times 100	720
Included?	second-hand car sale	Not new output	Excluded
Unemployment type	factory closure after relocation	Skills no longer match	Structural

Sanity check (teach this): Compare nominal growth with the price index: nominal up 10 percent against prices up 15 percent means real output fell.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
C 600, I 150, G 100, X 250, M 200	900	Add then subtract
Nominal 920, index 115	800	Divide and scale
A graduate seeking a first job	Frictional	Transition period

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Counting intermediate goods	counts flour and bread	Final goods only.
Forgetting to subtract imports	C + I + G + X	Subtract M.
Nominal compared with real	compares raw totals	Adjust with the index.
Unemployment types mixed	recession layoffs called structural	Cyclical follows the cycle.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Secondary economics chapter index — Use the three questions on this page

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
GDP with C600 I150 G100 X250 M200	900	All right: move to inflation
Nominal 920, index 115	800	One wrong: re-teach the index
Graduate seeking a first job	Frictional	Two wrong: repeat scene 3

09 Tutor FAQ

GDP against GNP?

GDP is domestic output, GNP is nationals output anywhere.

How is inflation measured?

By the change in a price index.

Unemployment rate?

Unemployed divided by the labour force.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.